Heat-treating furnace



May 14, 1929. T. J. LAURNCE HEAT TREATING F'URNACE Filed June 25, 192'? QJ M I A TTORNE Y f Patented May 14, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEElcE.

THOMAS J. LAURENCE, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, .ASSIGNOR TO CHRYSLER CORPORA TION, HIGHLAND PARK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION F DELAIVARE.

HEAT-TIREATING FURNACE.

`Application filed June 25, 1927. Serial No. 201,532.

hiy invention relates to new and useful i111-- provements in heat treating furnaces of the class in which the parts to be heat treated are pushed thru the furnace in a continuous procession.

In the treating of small parts the common method is to put the parts to be heated on a tray and slowly push the tray thru the furnace. This method requires a man to load and unload the trays and furthermore heat is not evenly distributed to all the small parts when they are piled on a tray.

An important ob 'ect of my invention is to provide means in the form of a magazme for auton'iatically feeding the parts to be heated, to a reciprocating member which adapted to force the parts into and thru the furnace, one at a time and one in front of the other.

The manner in which my invention works will be more clearly understood by reference to the following specification and drawings wherein y Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the receiving end of a heat treating furnace em bodying my invention, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a part sectional view of the 1nagaeine feed for the furnace shown in Fig. 1.

I have shown a heat treating furnace supported on legs 12. Extending thru the furnace and for a distance sufficient to support the feeding mechanism at the receiving yend thereof, is a track 14 along which parts 16 to be heat treated are pushed.

Altho not shown, it is to be understood that there is a discharge opening in the rear wall of the furnace and that the parts after being sufficiently heated fall out this opening and into a receptacle or directly into a tempel-ing liquid.

A shaft 18 parallel to the receiving end of the furnace 10 rotates in bearings 20 secured to the under side of the tracks 14;. Secured to the shaft 18 is a cam 22 rotating in a slot 24 in a pusher plate 26. The plate 26 slides back and forth on the tracks 14C and secured beneath it by screws 28 is a cam engaging member 30. The member 30 slides between the tracks 14; and has a slot, the same as the plate 26, to allow the cam 22 to rotate therein. At each end of the slot in member 30 there are rollers 32 and 33, pivoted on pins 3d and 35 respectively, which act as roll-I er bearings between the cam 22 and the member 30.

Secured adjacent and extending above a receiving opening 36 in the furnace 10, is a tubular magazine 38 shaped similar to the outline of the parts 16 to' be treated. The plate 26 is so shaped that when the cam 22, bearing on the roller 33 has moved it to the extreme left hand, or out, position, the lower openingr of the magazine 38 is uncovered allowing a part 16A to drop onto the tracks 14. Vhen the cam 22 pushin on the roller 32 has moved the plate 26 to the extreme right, or in, position the part 16A will be pushed into the furnace l0, thru the open ing 36, to the position of piece 16B and in so doing will advance the entire procession of parts 16 in the furnace. As the cam 22 continues to rotate it will push the plate 26 out to the left by bearing on the roller 33 and allow another part 16 to drop out of the magazine 38 onto the traclr 11i and then push it into the opening 36 and advance the parts 16 thru the furnace 10.

A means for driving the shaft 18 is shown consisting of a belt 40 and pulley 12. Any suitable means may be used such as gears or chains driven by a suitable source of power. The speed. of the shaft 18 depends on the length of the furnace 10 and on the tempera ture to which the parts 16 are to be heated.

The magazine 38, track 141-, cam 22 and pusher plate assembly 26 and 30 form one feeder unit. Any number of these units may be placed side by side depending on the width of the furnace. A workman, in operating this improved type of furnace, onl has to keep the magazine 38 filled with the parts 16.

It understood that various changes may be made in the feeder mechanism to adapt it to different shaped parts to he heat treated without departing from the spirit of the invention as explained in the preceding speciiication and claimed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a heat treating oven having a receivingr opening leading thereinto, tracks leadingr inH to said oven thru said opening, a plate having a slot therein adapted to reciprocate upon said tracks and a cam rotating in said slot and adapted to operate said plate.

2. In combination with a heat treating oven, article supporting means extending into and thru said oven, and means for pushing articles to be heated along said supporting means, said pushing means comprising a slotted member having a roller at each end of said slot adapted to form rolling contact between said member and a cam rotating in said slot Vfor reciprocating said member. Y f

v3. A furnace feeding device of the class described comprising a track extending into 'a vheat treating furnace, a magazine secured above said track, a slotted plate slidable on mem-ber.

THOMAS J. LAURENCE. 

